Injured Marshfield veteran gets hero's welcome

It was a long, arduous road to recovery for National Guard Sgt. Breinne Travers Sullivan, who three years ago was seriously injured in a roadside bombing during her second tour in Afghanistan. But Travers Sullivan’s road back to Marshfield was one marked by much gratitude and respect, as more than 175 local, state and federal law enforcement officers on motorcycles escorted her home Saturday.

By Jessica Trufant

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Jessica Trufant

Posted Aug. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 19, 2013 at 7:08 PM

By Jessica Trufant

Posted Aug. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 19, 2013 at 7:08 PM

MARSHFIELD

» Social News

It was a long, arduous road to recovery for National Guard Sgt. Breinne Travers Sullivan, who three years ago was seriously injured in a roadside bombing during her second tour in Afghanistan.

But Travers Sullivan’s road back to Marshfield was one marked by much gratitude and respect, as more than 175 local, state and federal law enforcement officers on motorcycles escorted her home Saturday.

Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial Riders, a veteran-operated motorcycle group that supports veterans of the war on terrorism, led the effort to meet Travers Sullivan at the state border while she drove from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Sam Dillon, a wounded Marine Corps veteran and a member of the group, said one of its founders, Patrick Hayden, served in the 379th Engineer Company out of Bourne with Travers Sullivan.

After finding out last weekend that Travers Sullivan was going home after three years in the hospital, the organization knew it had to plan a surprise welcome for her.

“We had about three days’ notice to get this together, and we had 175 motorcycles from Marshfield police, the State Police and Boston police, and the response was just incredible,” Dillon said.

Travers Sullivan and her husband, Joseph Sullivan, who is also a National Guard veteran, were escorted by police from each state through which they traveled on the 470-mile drive.

“She was sending text messages from Maryland and Connecticut saying, ‘This is so special that the state police from all these states came out. It makes me feel incredible,’” Dillon said. “We were laughing, like, ‘She has no idea what is in store for her.’”

When the Sullivans crossed into Massachusetts, the huge escort met them at a rest stop, leaving Travers Sullivan speechless, Dillon said.

“As she got closer to Marshfield, we rode by several (Veterans of Foreign War posts) where people were outside cheering, and Marshfield Fire had every available unit on the overpasses for when she rode through,” said Dillon. “Family, friends and neighbors all gathered outside her house to meet her.”

Small American flags lined the yard of her Ocean Street home, where another banner welcomed back Marshfield’s “own hometown hero.”

The Massachusetts State Police, Boston Police Department, Massachusetts Army National Guard, Marshfield police and fire departments, about a dozen motorcycle clubs, local sheriff’s departments and the Disabled American Veterans Association were among those who participated.

A Purple Heart recipient and a nurse, Travers Sullivan graduated in 1998 from Norton High School and in 2009 from Massasoit Community College. She and her husband lived in Marshfield until they were both deployed in February 2010. They got married at Walter Reed in September 2010, just after she was injured.